Update 025.

Update 025.

Mass Customisation

It’s time to switch gears.

Time to take things in a new direction.

Here’s how this newsletter has evolved:

  • Year one: A new product every month

  • Year two: Behind-the-scenes and delivery

  • Year three: We go big - each update will dive into one big theme in design that’s shaping the world around us.

To kick things off? Mass customisation - what we were promised vs what we got.

A warm welcome to the 33 new readers who’ve joined us this month - I’m really glad you’re here.

Mass Customisation

What is it? The ability to produce products that meet individual customer needs at the scale and efficiency of mass production. Essentially, promising the advantages that come with the scale of mass production with the flexibility of bespoke craftsmanship.

The dream? A world where everything from your shoes to your desk is made exactly for you - personal, fast, and affordable.

But what have we actually got?

A Few Bright Sparks

  • OpenDesk: beautifully executed furniture, designed to be CNC machined locally (avoiding global shipping). Back in 2016, they introduced a customise feature, where you could plug in the dimensions you needed for your setup and it would parametrically update the file and export the drawings for machining for you. This was the excitement we were promised with mass customisation but sadly no longer exists on their site.



  • Adidas Futurecraft: Adidas promised a future where you’d walk into a store, sensors would track your movement, and a custom 3D-printed shoe would be ready by checkout. Bespoke midsoles, tuned to how you move. The concept? Brilliant. The reality? Still a long way off from true scale. The below image is as close as we got - a semi customised running shoe. Driven by 3D scan data and 3D printing, bespoke midsoles can be created that fit to the contours of someone’s foot whilst manipulating the density of the lattice structure to provide more support where needed.


So… What Happened?

This is the kind of design that got me hooked in the first place - big ideas, brave prototypes, and giant leaps forward.

Scaling these ideas is where things break down. The tech exists, the ambition exists - but mass production of customproducts is still a puzzle we haven’t quite solved.

Meanwhile…

Mass Customisation Already Happened - Just Not the Way We Hoped

It happened in software.

Open any social media app: no two people see the same feed. Algorithms shape every interaction to fit your preferences. Seamless, automatic, hyper-personalised.

But here’s the twist: we’re not the customer - we’re the product. The true clients are advertisers, and what we see is designed to keep us scrolling and engaged, not to serve us.

It’s mass customisation for attention - not meaning.
This isn’t the future we asked for.

Where Is It Going?

Here’s what gives me hope:

  • Parametric design (born 40+ years ago) introduced the concept of customisation by enabling quick changes to existing designs.

  • Generative design took it further, using algorithms to explore thousands of design solutions. You define the problem, generative design produces your options.

  • Generative AI still very much in its infancy is pushing personalisation into new territory and I’m excited to see where it leads.

Combine that with the maturing of the maker movement and powerful, affordable digital fabrication (hello, Bambu Labs) and suddenly the idea of creating beautifully tailored physical products at scale doesn’t feel so far-fetched.

Who's Reading This, Really?

I started this newsletter with the hope that I would grow a closer connection with people with similar interests to me - finding people out there who share a similar curiosity for design, making, and thoughtful idea. Last month I released a poll with the hope of finding out more about you.

The results certainly surprised me.

the results

My Products, My philosophy

With what seems like an infinite number of forces at play making it harder than ever for small, thoughtful product companies to survive, never mind thrive - I find myself more driven than ever to put thoughtful, meaningful products out into the world that don’t compromise on quality. The type of products people want to own and help in some way.

I’ve spent the last few months reflecting quite heavily on what I want to focus my attention on for the next 5 years. Time is tight, family time is important but I am driven more than ever to add thoughtful friction into people’s lives.

I want to design products that intentionally take us out of auto-pilot.

Too often we find ourselves in autopilot, trying to complete the never ending to do list we really don’t stand a chance of ever getting to the bottom of.

As a thank you, you can use this discount code at checkout (available site wide): SubstackCrew (20% off).


Last months most clicked link: The Watchmaker Apprentice.


My top 5 pieces of content I have found helpful/inspiring:

1.

Fairphone 6. I have a lot of appreciation for fairphone - every phone should be modular in this way, avoiding the slow incremental disposable nature of smartphones. I love the idea of a physical “dumbphone” toggle - and am actively seeking solutions like this personally.

2. 

Matthew Encina: building a brand. Every one of Matthew’s videos are gold dust - slow and thoughtful in a world of fast paced rubbish. I first discovered Matthew on YouTube when he was with The Futur through an incredible brand building short series.

3. 

How to Turn a 3-Year-Old Tree to 25-Year-Old Bonsai. Another rabbit hole I have slowly begun to fall down lately. These videos are so captivating and this one in particularly resulted in me now being the proud owner of two small Japanese Acers. Check back in with me in 5 years to see my progress…

4. 

Convenience is Destroying Culture. John is a deep thinker and his videos do a fantastic job of breaking down important conversations within design - none more important than this in my eyes.

5.

Papyrus: SNL. I’m 7 years late to the party here but boy did I enjoy this one. Some simple comedic escapism.

TRACE Reborn

Continuing the theme of mass customisation - I’m picking back up TRACE (first introduced back in update 010) this month with the ambition of turning my design principles on their head.


I have had a version of this product on the wall in our house for over 8 years. Designed for my wife and I’s first home, it is one of the most commented on things I have ever made. I have produced quite a few over the years as gifts for friends and family - each one taking over an hour of manual line tracing. For 8 years I’ve had the thought in the back of my mind - how do I deliver this, passively to anyone that wants one? How do I remove myself as the bottleneck.


So what is TRACE?

It’s a custom map, laser-cut from birch plywood, that can show anywhere in the world. You can personalise it with a title and marker to highlight a location that means something to you.

Over the years, I’ve seen a few similar ideas crop up - but none with the same clarity or finish. Most rely on messy back-and-forth emails to finalise the design. I want to do it differently.

What if…

  • You could visit a website, choose your location, preview it live, add your custom text, and check out in minutes?

  • It arrived beautifully boxed, direct to the recipient?

  • It was easy to install - even if you’re renting?

Surely a go-to gift? Personal, timeless, and simple to order.


Rewriting the Rules

For the last few years, I have flipped my own design education on its head - purposefully seeking to re-introduce some friction back into our day to day lives. Providing small moments of escape from our endless digital world. Time to disconnect. Time to think. Developing this product is going back to my roots and developing frictionless experiences, leveraging the obsession for detail and testing to produce a frictionless experience for good.

My original maps always used chrome standoffs (typically used in the signage industry). They’re clean, secure and leave no visible fixings - but they’re not DIY friendly. This is the single biggest roadblock for installing any of the maps I have gifted friends and family. It needed to be simpler.

So I went deep down the rabbit hole of alternatives. Could it be as easy as peel-and-stick? I tested every adhesive I could get my hands on. Every one failed — eventually falling off the wall. Not acceptable. Not sustainable. And definitely not renter-safe.

I tried countless options. Surely, peeling and sticking it to the wall would be the most frictionless way to install it? I tested every adhesive I could get my hands on. Every one failed — eventually falling off the wall. I cannot ship a product that doesn’t stand the test of time - we have enough landfill in the world. Equally, adhesives can damage paint on walls which isn’t ideal if you’re renting. I needed a solution that was easy to install and renter friendly.

The Breakthrough? A Humble Nail.

Simple. Reliable. Time-tested.


Imagine this: the packaging includes a little offcut you use as a template, complete with a built-in level. Line it up, tap in two nails, and you’re done. It gives the map just the right amount of shadow and depth — and anyone can do it.


Now I need your help

This newsletter exists to share ideas in progress, not polished final products. TRACE is still in development and your thoughts are a huge part of shaping where it goes next.

👉 What do you think?
Am I missing something obvious? Is there a better way to do any part of it?
Drop your thoughts in the comments - I’d genuinely love to hear them.

Right now, I’m finalising the packaging to make sure the unboxing experience is just as considered as the product itself.

One Last Thing

Whilst I have a crystal clear idea of how the user experience should look and work through the website - actually developing and delivering this is well beyond my skillset. I have a sense of what it would take but if this is your world and you have any insight or would be willing to work with me on this one - I want to hear from you!

I have a strong vision for how the online experience should feel but building the actual platform is beyond my current skillset. If this is within your wheelhouse - or if you know someone who’d be the perfect collaborator - I’d love to chat. Let’s make this happen!

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